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oyin FAQ

What does 'Oyin' mean?

Oyin is the Yoruba word for Honey, a natural humectant and amazing ingredient in natural hair and skin care. It also stands for the principles of sweetness, joy, and love -- elements we seek to inspire in our customers' daily acts of self-care through affirming marketing and nourishing, effective products.

Why did you name your stuff after honey?

So glad you asked. ;o)

Besides tasting wonderful, honey is one of nature's most versatile beauty products. It's a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial, making it useful in acne treatment without drying your skin. On the contrary, honey is a natural humectant (attracts & retains moisture) helping it to maintain supple skin, soft lips, and hydrated hair. It contains natural hydrogen peroxide which makes it a cleansing aid. In short, honey is one of the best things in the world, and I've loved the word 'oyin' since I was a little girl. ;o)

How long will my order take to arrive?

Most orders ship the next business day after being received, and all ship within 1-3 business days! You will receive a shipping notification after your order ships, so you will know it's on its way. :o)

International orders, and orders paid via check, money order, or eCheck, can take a few extra days processing time for check processing and customs form preparation.

We ship domestic orders using USPS Priority Mail, which usually takes 2-3 days in transit, or UPS services, which vary according to the service you choose. (again, international orders have a longer time in transit, depending on the destination.)

Please understand that in order to be fair to all our customers, we are unable to 'rush' orders, or jump your order ahead in the queue.

Can I add something to my order? Change my shipping address?

We ship according to the address information submitted on our site, that you will find in your order confirmation email. We are unable to make any changes to your shipping address once your order has been submitted!

Although we love to make other order changes whenever possible, we can't guarantee that we can make changes to your order once it is in progress - some changes are simply not possible to execute through our system, and the density of our processing queue can sometimes make it quite difficult to perform special admin changes while keeping things moving for all our customers. To avoid delays in your order processing, please double check the contents of your cart and the shipping information before you complete your order.

Which of your products are vegan?

Almost all of our ingredients are vegetable-derived, but of course we use honey in lots of our goodies. A few of the products also contain beeswax, silk protein or milk powder. More information about the ingredients of each product are on the individual product pages.

There is beeswax in the HoneySticks, Body Butter Bars, and a small amount in the Whipped Pudding. There is honey in the Shine & Define, Whipped Pudding, and of course the Honey-Hemp conditioner and HoneyWash. The Fizzy Milk Bath contains milk powder.

All of our products are people tested and cruelty free ;o)

Are your products safe to use on my child?

Oyin products are gentle enough for the whole family! They are herbal, nourishing, full of natural ingredients; and many of our customers -- and our founders! -- use them on their newborns or small children. Of course the normal caveats for allergies apply; children and adults with sensitive skin or allergies should patch-test in a small area of skin first to make sure there's no reaction.

How long will my products last? / What preservatives do you use?

Preservatives & Shelf Life: Oyin Handmade strives to be as gentle and natural as possible in our choice of preservative systems. Below is a list of our various products, thier methods of preservation, and their respective shelf life expectations.

There is a small amount of fluctuation that is possible from batch to batch when dealing with handmade products... Our products are made by people, not machines, and use a very high percentage of natural ingredients which themselves can embody slight variation from batch to batch or season to season. Please rest assured that we and all of our suppliers always work to bring you the best quality ingredients and products possible, and that our recipes are always cooked/blended/mixed up with love and meticulous care.

Can you ship outside the US?

**Please note we are currently unable to ship to European Union Nations due to a Summer 2013 change in import regulations, labeling requirements, and other changes, We apologize to our Oyin Honeys in the EU! we have shipped direct to customers in Europe since 2003 and are very sorry to lose you! But customs was intercepting our customers' goodies, no good! We will definitely let you all know if we are able to offer this service again. <3

Can you ship to a military base?

We sure do. We use first class or priority mail.

If you are ordering more than one or two products for international delivery, please do not choose flat rate shipping. The shopping cart can calculate accurate shipping costs, but cannot calculate whether the products you have chosen will fit into the international flat rate envelopes. If you are unsure about the size/eligibility of your order, please email us! Failure to do so may result in your order being delayed, or even canceled and refunded.

I don't have a credit card, can I pay for my purchase with a personal check / money order?

Yes. Please create an Oyin Account, and submit your order online through the shopping cart. At the end, choose 'money order' as your payment option, confirm your order, and send payment to 2334 Guilford Ave, Unit A Baltimore, MD 21218 (will also be listed in your confirmation email.) Please make payable to EXITTHEAPPLE, our parent company. We cannot process money orders sent to us without an accompanying online order. Also, there may be a slight increase in processing time as your payment clears or works through our administration queue.

Another option for payment is to join PayPal's secure online payments system. After signing up for an account at paypal.com, you can link your checking account directly to your paypal account. You can then use your checking account to make payments at millions of online merchants that accept PayPal payments. This is just one of them- there's also ebay, and many more. Visit paypal.com to learn more.

I read I'm not supposed to use beeswax in my hair. Why do you use it in your pudding?

Well, you're right: you shouldn't use pure beeswax in your hair; it would result in major buildup. However, the small amount that's used to bind and thicken the pudding recipe is overpowered by the soft butters, oils, and all the water & aloe in the mix. The final product is anything but waxy - usually melts to liquid between fingers - and we've yet to experience buildup or receive any customer comments to that effect. However, if you are wary of using products that contain beeswax, you can try whipped shea butter or even AfterBath blended body oil - both products are located in our body section.

My order was missing something / had something extra / there was a delivery problem

If there is something the matter with your order, please let us know as soon as possible by email - info-at-oyinhandmade.com. We will try our best to rectify the situation!